3rd grade boy dies after being struck by car near San Jose elementary school

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A third-grade boy has died after being struck by a car Friday morning near Castlemont Elementary School in San Jose, police and the school district said.

Jacob Villanova, 8, was walking with his babysitter when they were hit just after 8 a.m. on Castlemont Avenue near the school. Police tweeted that he had died about two hours later at the hospital, while also expressing condolences to his family.

Police said it appeared they were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when the driver hit them. The woman was also taken to the hospital with what police said were moderate injuries. She was expected to survive.

Police said the driver stayed at the scene and had been cooperating.

The school is part of the Campbell Unified School District, where Supt. Shelly Viramontez called the news "tragic." 

"Our school community is heart-broken by this development, as every single one of our students we care for and love like our own," she wrote in a statement. "As a parent, and as your superintendent, I ask you to please hold the family in your thoughts, as they will need our entire community to hold them in our arms."

It's unclear if there was a crossing guard present and how fast the driver was going. 

The street is a small one lined with apartment buildings. 

Yellow crime scene tape blocked off the scene, where the boy's backpack lay on the ground. 

Police reminded drivers to slow down near schools and that the speed limit is 25 mph when children are present. 

San Jose has had an epidemic of traffic accidents and deaths in the last several years. 

The boy marks the 49th fatality of the year and the 26th pedestrian death in San Jose in 2022. 

Viramontez said that counselors would be available for those who needed it.